Christian Lee and Rio Hondo Prep will face Redondo Union in the CIF Division 5 Finals Saturday night. (Photo by Duane Barker).
All kickoffs are scheduled for 7:00 PM unless otherwise indicated:
Friday November 28
DIV 13
Woodbridge (5-8) at Montebello (7-6)
Montebello was 3-6 but has since ripped off four straight victories including the last three in the playoffs. The Oilers have been running the ball well lately. Donovan Murillo ran for four touchdowns last week in a semi-final win over La Puente. Woodbridge started the season 0-7 before winning two of its last three regular season games to get into the playoffs. A solid running game and the home field advantage should be enough for the Oilers. Montebello brings home the title.
Montebello 28 Woodbridge 24
DIV 14
South El Monte (9-4) at Pioneer (7-6)
South El Monte survived over AB Miller 13-7 last week after a tough 14-7 win over Indian Springs the week before. Pioneer has followed the same pattern. The Titans beat Trinity Classical Academy and Anaheim by the same exact score of 14-6 the last two weeks. Expect a low scoring game. Eventually the defense will make a big play. South El Monte wins a close game.
South El Monte 17 Pioneer 14
Saturday November 29
DIV 5
Rio Hondo Prep (13-0) at Redondo Union (9-4)
Rio Hondo Prep is overmatched. Rio Hondo Prep is not big enough. The Kares don’t have enough depth. The opponent has D1 talent. Haven’t we been hearing the same thing every week? Cole Leinart, son of former USC/ NFL quarterback Matt Leinart is the quarterback for Redondo Union and has thrown for over 1500 yards and 13 touchdowns. Redondo Union also has plenty of size up front. But all Rio Hondo Prep does is shrug its shoulders and keeps on winning. The Kares dominated a good La Serna team last week 35-6. Rio Hondo Prep wins its third straight CIF title.
Rio Hondo Prep 31 Redondo Union 24
DIV 11
Baldwin Park (8-5) at Valley View (8-5)
Baldwin Park’s offense has continued to shine. Last week the Braves went on the road and took care of a good Western Christian team 27-14. Baldwin Park is averaging 39 points in the playoffs. Valley View survived a 28-21 overtime win over South Pasadena last week after the same 28-21 score in a win over Gahr the week before. Valley View will have trouble stopping a Baldwin Park offense featuring quarterback Valentino May, running back Jacory Coleman and receivers Elvis Diaz and Donovan St Cyr. The Braves win going away.
Baldwin Park 31 Valley View 14
Loading ...
@Time . … you are correct , I had confused with Orange game with similar score .
St Paul is no slouch . Don’t be fooled by record vs D2 and D3 competition ..:::
Looking forward to the game !
I’m not sure what football is all about “at its core.” But for my money, watching Montebello play in the school’s first-ever championship game in a HIGHER DIVISION is the clear choice. And I completely understand if MVS ignores this Titan thing in favor of covering more significant competition.
Really pulling for RHP. An actual class act program that does things the right way is playing for yet another championship.
No doubt about it. The game that is of the most interest to Mid Valley Sports readers is the pioneer South El Monte tilt. Should be an absolutely fun game for everyone involved. And isn’t that what football is all about at its core.
You may not know that St Paul played Redondo in the second round, one week ago. So whatever injury recoveries or transfers you’re talking about were in place when the Swordsmen came close to beating those Seahawks. Never doubt the solidity of Rio; they are solid in the manly sense of that word, not in the La Serna sense.
@Time …Redondo had significant injuries at the time ( especially # 7 Ausmus) . They also added some big transfers in the second half of season. They are a different team than seen v StPaul
Still picking Kares , but not an easy task
No surprise here. The Mid plays it safe and picks all the locals. Redondo wins easily. La Serna really not very good. Pioneer beats SEM.
From T. Peterson: I guess you can call it playing it safe but when looking at the games the local teams are actually the favorites. In those games you mentioned RHP and SEM are both ranked higher than their opponents. I think they will win. I don’t know if La Serna is “not very good”. That doesn’t sound right. But if it is true were all of RHP’s 13 opponents not very good either?
Hard to believe Matt Leinart already has a high school aged son. Seems like yesterday Matt was running the offense at SC. St. Paul played Redondo very close, so I don’t expect Rio will have too much trouble dispatching the Seahawks.